According to FOX Sports’ Jon Morosi, the San Francisco front office has requested to view the medical records of free agent right-hander Jason Hammel — an indication that the interest level is pretty serious. Hammel posted a rough 4.97 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 139 1/3 innings this past season for the Orioles, but he was battling a forearm injury and produced much better numbers in 2012.

You pay for “average” you get “average.” The Giants will have to learn that spending a few million more for higher quality will return many larger dollars from the post season. In this day and age of the dodgers, just finishing 2nd or 3rd will get very old very fast not only for the fans attending but also for the broadcast rights. They can’t use the stadium mortgage as an excuse anymore – if the owners want to be fiscally responsible they will have to start thinking about the giants as a non-profit thinks….not as a for-profit company (they all derive their incomes from elsewhere). The Giants showing a profit would be like a City showing a profit (where the taxes never go down – only up). The owners are the custodians of a civic venture – not of a for-profit investment – and the sooner they understand and accept that, the sooner they will once again compete with the dodgers.